Building Your Brand Offline
Building or elevating your brand OFFLINE is just as important as it is online.
The other day while listening to “Simply Be”, one of my favorite business and brand-inspired books, I heard the author, Jessica Zweig talk about the importance of building your brand offline and how doing so is just as important as doing so online. And this little golden nugget not only resonated so much with me and the work that I do, but also got me really thinking about how this could help me better help my own audience…
Very often I talk with my clients about how there are so many opportunities to build and solidify brand awareness outside of social media, and I realized this phrase of “offline brand building” IS the most eloquent way of wrapping this concept up in the perfect package, complete with the pretty bow. In the digital, social media- heavy world we are living in, connecting on, buying from, and being inspired by, it is understandably SO easy to get caught up in the notion that THIS is where we should direct all of our efforts as business owners. After all, social media channels such as Instgram and Tik Tok have become second nature resources that we are the relying on to make our next purchase. As business owners, we might feel pulled to heavily (too heavily) bank on these platforms to help us build our brands, while the truth is that our online presence is only a fraction of where we should be placing our efforts. Not to mention, none of us own these platforms…at any given moment, the social media world could change, which could leave us without a solid presence. And wouldn’t that just stink?
It most definitely would.
Inspired by Jessica and her solid advice, I decided to pull together my own take on a few strategies for business owners looking to build or elevate their brands OFFLINE. I hope that no matter where you are with your business, you find these thoughts to be inspiring and powerful as you work to better your own brand.
Physical Location Branding-If the walls could talk
The businesses that come to mind when considering the importance of physical space branding are hotels, rental properties, restaurants, retail shops, offices, spas, or any other location where your customer is walking into a space for an experience of some kind.
I often encourage my clients with physical locations to think about their own favorite restaurant or hotel when considering the importance of physical branding. Sure, the food is probably incredible at the restaurant and the beds are probably the best at the hotel, but what else about this establishment makes it your favorite? I strongly bet that the way the location makes you feel upon arrival is in large part what you love. The ambience, the decor, the way the vibe just feels right…none of this happened by accident, I promise you. Instead, the decor was an intentional step the business owner and/or the branding team took to make the business completely ON BRAND for their customers.
The way a place looks leads to a feeling, and since we should always be considering how we want our customers to feel, bringing a physical location to life with the brand in mind is a crucial step in achieving business success. If your goal is to provide your customers with a calming experience, such as with a salon or therapeutic office of some kind, then you want to make sure your space FEELS this way. If you are in the business of providing a lively experience like a top notch restaurant or bar, then it’s so important that the space looks like an outstandingly good time.
Simply put…what you attract depends on how you present your business, and if the vibe matches what the audience is looking for, you have hit a home run.
Images by Illume Photography by Merissa Conley
Brand Experiences-how they’ll remember you
As humans, we are looking for experiences. We want to LIVE, and living is done when a remarkable experience is had. Big or small, quiet or electric, serene or adventurous, easy, effective, reliable…these are some of the types of qualities we are looking for when engaging with a paid experience. The first step is to know what you offer and then what your audience is looking for. From there, it’s time to think about HOW you will best deliver this experience so that they FEEL completely satisfied and left wanting more.
Strategizing on-brand experiences is probably one of my favorite ways to help business owners to build amazing brands. There is creativity and intentionality here, and those are probably my two favorite words when it comes to my work. Dreaming up ways to leave remarkable impressions on your customers is not only fun, but it is powerful. This is an area where you can stand out in a crowd by doing something completely different than anyone else.
Often, these moves can be simplistic. Think about warm chocolate chip cookies upon arrival or a mini fridge fully stocked with similarly branded beverages and snacks. Beach cruisers to borrow at the boutique ocean-side hotel. Perfectly dried and seasoned fire wood at the mountain-top Air BNB. Warmed linens and lavender-scented washcloths at the spa. Guys, I could go on forever with this list. There are an endless amount of ways to strategically build your brand through experiences, and this is an area where you can have so much fun with your business.
Branded Experience Photos for Sandy Cheeks Properties by Cambria Grace Photography
Packaging and Other Branded Materials-complete the look
This is one I can personally speak to it’s importance as a retail shop owner myself. At Salt + Grove, we are constantly on the market for new items to bring to our carefully-curated gift shop. We are always on the hunt for other brands that support our brand and provide our customers with the perfectly thought-out gift for their loved ones. Love it or hate it, but we often begin our relationship with a maker based on the packaging of a product. You can have the best smelling candle on the planet, but if you are not presenting your product with a solid first impression with excellent packaging then chances are, we are going to pass by. This is a first impression opportunity that can’t be missed.
I have made decisions on skincare products, household items, food (so many food items!) and more solely based on the packaging, and I bet you have to if you think about it.
Aside from product packaging, there is an opportunity to sharpen this offline branding aspect through other collateral material, such as gift wrapping, shipping materials like tape, stickers and the boxes you use to send your online orders, menus, business cards, information packets, postcards, complimentary matchboxes, shopping bags, and more.
Of course, on-point packaging and supporting collateral all starts with a professionally designed brand suite, so don’t skip this step at the early stage of your brand build. The investment will absolutely 100% be worth it!
Interpersonal Connections-ya know, human-to-human things
Oh, this is a good one, and is mostly likely the most often overlooked offline brand asset we have the power over as business owners. Building relationships with our target audience is the name of the business success game, and creating impactful interactions with our customers is a free tool we all have access to. This aspect of our brand can be experienced over face-to-face conversations, in digital communications, over phone calls, and during live events.
Have you ever walked into your favorite coffee shop and been greeted by your favorite barista who know your name and your order without asking?
ON-BRAND INTERPERSONAL CONNECTION
Have you ever sat at the bar at a restaurant and absolutely loved the bartender and the way he/she talked with you and took care of you?
ON-BRAND INTERPERSONAL CONNECTION
Have you ever been turned off by how rude someone was to you at a place of business (and you might never go back)?
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Deciding how we want to interact with our customers is a massively important brand step. And training staff and supporting members of our business so that they can get on board with those some tactics is imperative for brand cohesiveness.
Photography by Sarah Jayne Photography and Share the Soul
There’s More-there’s always more
These are just some of the ways you can build awareness around your business through offline branding opportunities. No two businesses are the same, and therefore the unique customization you can create around your offerings and the audience you want to impact can be carefully curated to make a big impact. The bottom line is that the way you show up in real life is just as, if not more important than how you show up online, and the possibilies are plentiful.
As a brand strategist and creative director, this is the work I love to do. I am endlessly passionate about helping my clients with bringing their brands to life, both online and offline. Huge thank you to Jessica Zweig for inspiring me to dig further into this subject-I love being inspired, and hopefully you found some inspiration here yourself!
LET’S MAKE SOME MAGIC TOGETHER!
Thinking about how you can bring your business to life with offline branding strategies?
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